"I think the experiment today was a disaster." Gen.G beat Paper Rex in Playoffs Day 1 of VCT Maters Madrid

VCT Masters Madrid Playoffs Day 1 has concluded, and fans were treated to quite the exciting matchups.

The first match saw Gen.G take a commanding 2-0 win over Paper Rex in the Upper Bracket Semifinals.

Gen.G 2-0 Paper Rex

Paper Rex had a rocky start to their pick of Split. After winning the pistol and the subsequent round, Gen.G managed to win 8 rounds in a row to solidify the lead. PRX managed to claw back two more rounds to end the first half 4-8. PRX again managed to win the pistol and the following round. But Gen.G managed to keep their momentum and close out the map 13–8.

Gen.G picked Lotus for the second map. They had a very strong start, managing to take the lead at 8-1. PRX managed to win the three remaining rounds to close out the first half 4-8. PRX had a much better start in the second half, managing to equalize at 9-9. But Gen.G regained their form and won four rounds straight to close out the map at 13–9.

Post-match thoughts

In a post-match press conference, we asked the PRX team about their slow start and recovery on Lotus. Coach alecks had a few thoughts to share on the matter:

“I think we started slow mainly because we got our game plan wrong this time. We were trying something different today. And I think it really didn’t pay off.

And props to the players. Halfway through, they realized that it was going wrong, and they managed to adjust themselves. I think we just [have to] get better at the prep work, do a little bit better, come up with a better game plan. Then maybe we’ll start a little bit stronger. I mean, we won most of the pistol rounds today, so I think we had a good chance of carrying our momentum.

But unfortunately, I think Gen.G were too good today.”

We also asked alecks for any takeaways from this matchup that he could apply to their next matchup against Sentinels or LOUD (which was unconfirmed at the time of the press conference).

“Definitely don’t do what we did today. Maybe we hesitated a little too much. Again, I think we tried something new, and I think it’s not working. So it’s back to the drawing board.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow, but it’s probably going to be something that we’ve been practicing for the course of the last couple of months. Maybe we have to go back to something we used to do.

I think the experiment today was a disaster.”

On asking Gen.G how they managed to adapt to the new gameplan PRX brought, Coach solo shared a bit of insight on his thinking process, and his trust in his players during the game.

“Lotus is a good map for us as well. And I think what happened in the second half when Paper Rex were making that comeback was that we had easy rounds. We let them get to us, get in our head, and we were kind of letting our guards down.

But I think the crucial part, from my side, for our win on Lotus was that I didn’t call timeout on purpose. Because I knew that Paper Rex had used up both of their timeouts. And when things got really really close, and they were clawing their way back, I was still contemplating on whether to use the timeout or not.

But I did believe in the players. And I just didn’t want Paper Rex to get a great momentum and somehow make that comeback possible. So I just believed in my players, and did not call the timeout, which worked in our favor.”

On asking the Gen.G team about their expectations for their next potential matchup against LOUD or Sentinels (which was unconfirmed at the time of the press conference), t3xture revealed that he was eager for a matchup against Sentinels.

“Whoever wins the next match will be our opponents, surprise, surprise! But I don’t think it matters. Whoever wins, we play them. But, personally I would like to face a team or play a team that we haven’t played before. So, I really want to play Sentinels next.”

It looks like t3xture got his wish, as Gen.G will be facing Sentinels in the Upper Bracket Finals. Meanwhile, Paper Rex will fight against elimination in the Lower Bracket against LOUD.

You can follow Valorant Champions Tour X (formerly Twitter) for all updates on the upcoming fixture. You can also follow Strafe for upcoming fixtures, press conference coverage, and more.

Follow Strafe Esports on YouTube for all the upcoming VALORANT Masters Madrid Press conferences.

Featured Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

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